Nice, St Tropez and Parts in Between

The French Riviera or Coté d'Azur as it is sometimes known is truly a wonderful place for 'chilling out' and relaxing. This magnificent stretch of coast that dances with the Mediterranean attracts many people who are as rich as the scenery but it also has something to offer the average punter like myself.

With a long weekend ahead, I decided to make and early start on the 6 hour journey ahead. The first part of the journey was through the St Bernard Pass, which links Switzerland and Italy. This was a difficult part of the trip as the views afforded from the climb over the Alps makes concentrating on the narrow winding roads difficult. I hope next time I head to Italy to take the time to stop and take a few photographs to share with you, although I am sure that they will not do it justice

The quickest route from where I am situated in Switzerland is through Italy. Basically, I headed straight for Genova, virtually splitting the distance between Milano and Torino. Once arriving at Genova, it is time to 'hang a right' and head for the Italy-France border and Nice and onto a small seaside town called Frejus.

Along the way of course I drove passed Monaco, which would be my destination on Saturday night. Having been on the road for some 6+ hours, I was suitably knackered so Friday night was a very low key affair shared with my tour party with Elizabeth, Yola and Adrian, settling into a very neat and attractive villa.

Saturday, and the chance to see what the surrounds of our villa looked like in daylight. Althougn it was a fair way back from the beach the baclony did offer a glimpse of the Mediterranean. The surrounding hills were dotted with similar villas, definitely a holiday type town.

After grabbing some breakfast it was of to St. Tropez, playground of the rich and shameless, where the have not's come to marvel at the haves. The number of super yachts in the harbour was nothing short of amazing, there were artists on the edges of the port selling exquisite paintings, and more designer label shops than you could poke a stick.

But if you look past all the gloss and the glamour the old fishing port town of St. Tropez has a really charming feel and was easily my favourite part of the whole trip to the French Riviera.

Leaving St Tropez all to soon we headed back towards the villa, stopping in the holiday resort town of St Maxime, a poorer cousin to St. Tropez but picturesque all the same. While the others headed for the beach to catch some rays I decided to explore the town.

Have satisfied my curiousity with a suitable amount of window shopping I met up with my tour buddies a couple of hours later. We headed beack to the villa and for little rest before getting ready for a big night in Monaco. The plan was to look like a million dollars and try and win a million at the casino. Unfortunately, I fell well short on both counts.

After an hour or so drive we arrived with plenty of daylight left in order to do some reconnaisance. Monaco rises steeply from the ocean, and it seems every available inch of real estate on the steeps mountains has been built upon.

The area down towards the Casino is vey much you would expect with the buildings, the cars and many of the people showing more than a hint of money! I did't feel too out of place though as there were plenty of people who came just to see what real money looks like.

After a short stroll around soaking up the atmosphere we decided to find some 'grub'. We found a suitable establishment known to be frequented by some well known celebrities on occassions although there were none on this day. I got a bit carried away with the atmosphere at this point and decided to order the lobster from my main course! It is nice to pretend that you are rich sometimes.

Now that the meal was over, it was of to the Casinos to do some damage. The first casino we visited is frequented by the not so rich and famous but who would like to me. I wandered around for a while but found no games of chance that took my fancy, instead I preferred to watch others lose hundreds. In some cases it happens very quickly, if you blink you will miss it.

Next it was off to see the real 'players',at the famous Monte Carlo casino just a short stoll away. It was a dissappointment that I could not take my camera inside (standard procedure at just about every casino in the world) for the architecture of this place was awesome. Now I have probably been to about three casinos in my time, none of them in Las Vegas, but I can imagine that the Monte Carlo casino is somewhat understated by comparison. There is none of the glitz and glamour of flashing lights but rather an understated elegance that comes from exquisite and priceless art and paintings.

Again, I observed people losing money, only this time on a much larger scale. It was at times obscene yet also strangely addicting to watch. I observed one gentleman throw Euro $100 notes around like play money, all the while thinking that he should be spending the money on a new suit and some decent shoes. For the most part though the men where dressed 'a la James Bond' and the women in evening dresses.

I decided to walk away from the casino for the temptation was getting high but the minimum bet would have wiped me out in one round. So it was back to the poor man's casino where Youl, Adrian and Liz decided to try their luck. Only Yola had any succes, scoring a Euro $200 payout after placing her last chips on '00' at the roulette wheel and coming up trumps. It was pretty much at this point where we decided to make a move and head back to the Villa and retire for the evening.

Sunday morning and I did my usual trick of waking up ridiculously early. I was keen to head back to St. Tropez having really fallen in love with the place. I left the others behind a made the short trip, enjoying some breakfast and coffee, window shopping and gazing at the magnificent yachts in the harbour. It is definitely one of my favourite place in Europe so far and a must see if you are headed this way.

Reluctantly I left around after having a bit of Indian for lunch and headed back towards the villa stopping at a beach to me up with the crew. Spending the afternoon by the beach just sitting, eating ice cream and drinking coffee is wonderfully relaxing.

Sunday night we headed into the heart of Frejus, which is lined with one restaurant after another. I would have liked the chance to see it during the day but that will have to wait until my next trip to the Cote d'Azur.

That pretty much completes my summary of the French Riviera. Certainly not the wild and crazy time I had in Madrid or the culturally educating experience I received in Barcelona but certainly no less enjoyable.

Until the next adventure .......

Cheers,

Grizzly Bear